Incredibly Blessed

     Nicole's due date was November 19th. She had a prearranged appointment with our doctor for one week prior: November 12th at 10:00AM. We decided a month ago to use this appointment as an excuse to enjoy one last 1/2 day together, pre-baby, away from work. Hence, Dave had already arranged to work only for the second half of the day. We had absolutely no idea at the time that God had already ordained every miraculous aspect of our November 12th (The mere fact that we had a doctors appointment that morning, as you will soon see, validated that He was watching out for us). This is how our day went:

November 12, 2014

7:30 a.m. - We woke up, showered, & got dressed.

8:00 a.m. - Before leaving the house for breakfast, Nicole suggested taking the hospital bag and car seat along, just for practice. It seemed like a silly idea since she had no pain, but we took it along regardless.

9:00 a.m. - We enjoyed a large, delicious breakfast at Chez Paul.

10:00 a.m. - We walked three flights of stairs to Dr. Karaoui's office for our doctors appointment. Shockingly, Dr. Karaoui was ready to see Nicole immediately (usually, the wait time is at least 30 minutes). Even more shocking; however, was Dr. Karaoui's face when she assessed that Nicole was already 4.5cm. dilated and having regular contractions. Nicole wasn't feeling a thing. We were told to go directly to the clinic because our baby was apparently just hours away from arriving!

10:13 a.m. - We called our family/friends in order to notify them that we were heading to the clinic, our translator to tell her to rush to the clinic, and GWA to inform our supervisors that we would not be returning for the second half of the work day as planned. Even as we made the calls, we had a hard time believing that Nicole was really in labor because everything seemed so normal.

10:30 a.m. -We voluntarily opted to walk the two flights of stairs toward the delivery floor of Clinic Maarif. Nicole was immediately hooked up for monitoring. The nurse broke her water and contractions started to increase, but Nicole still had no pain. Even though we had planned on getting an epidural, we decided that it was no longer necessary.

Just arriving at Clinque Maarif - 5cm. dilated

@ 6cm. & still no pain :)

10:40 a.m. - Our translator (and friend) arrived at the clinic. Coincidentally, she happened to already in the city when we called...so she had no problems getting there quickly. Additionally, she informed us that she had just finished praying and telling God that  "November 12th would be a great day to have a baby" when she received Dave's phone call to meet us at the clinic.

11:40 a.m. - Nicole was dilated to 7cm. and started to feel pain for the first time.

12:33 p.m.  - Aliyah Jewel Grudda was born! Dave cut the umbilical cord.

Dave's first time holding Aliyah

     We spent one night at the clinic; and then we were discharged before noon the next day thanks to the fact that everything went so smoothly. The final bill for the entire delivery was $610 (Yes, that's before insurance). Aliyah is beautiful, healthy, and strong; and she has been feeding so well. Nicole is in a lot of pain now, but she is healing.


     It is impossible for us to express exactly how blessed we feel right now; but we have been counting our blessings today. These are just a few examples of how God has blessed us (in no particular order):

1. We have incredible friends here in Morocco. In fact, a big crew of our favorites showed up all at the same time to greet Aliyah and us at the clinic. They came prepared with pepperoni pizza and Snickers. Our friends have also been incredibly helpful in answering our many questions  and encouraging us as we get used to Aliyah.

2. Our landlord is literally the best in all of Morocco. Not only was his family the first to visit us at the clinic (carrying an enormous bouquet of flowers), but they also spent the entire day following her birth preparing beautiful gift baskets of sellou and a platter of walnut-filled dates for us to distribute to our friends who visit. Additionally, they prepared a feast of rfissa (a traditional Moroccan meal prepared for new mothers), and asked that we invite all of our close friends to accompany us for this meal in celebration of Aliyah's birth. 

3. Last month, Nicole's friends threw her a huge baby shower. As a result of this shower, we were blessed with exactly 1,250 diapers and the best hand-crocheted hat in the world.

Photo credit: CCR

4. A meal-train was established immediately following Aliyah's birth. We have had (and will continue to have) the most amazing meals delivered to our house. The biggest surprise so far, which pretty much brought Nicole to tears of happiness, was cookie dough. :) She hasn't been able to eat raw cookie dough for the entire 9 month duration of her pregnancy.

5. Nicole has a phenomenal class this year filled with students who adore her (they have already sent a slew of homemade cards to congratulate us with our new baby). With no behavior issues, she has been able to enjoy teaching again this year, even while being pregnant. There is a retired teacher from America who has flown in simply to cover her class during the months she is gone for maternity leave. She is so sweet, with a heart ready to serve. 

6. We received a recommendation for a local pediatrician, Dr. Filali, who speaks perfect English and was trained in the United States. We called her to set up our first appointment. Before ever meeting us in person, she called us twice to check in on us and on Aliyah. At the appointment she said that Aliyah is incredibly healthy and strong. There are no problems. 

Driving to Aliyah's first pediatrician appointment

7. Dr. Karoui's was wonderful. We were pleased with all of our appointments with her throughout the pregnancy, even in spite of the language barrier. Her wisdom in making decisions regarding Aliyah's birth was also evident. Aliyah was born with the assistance of a vacuum extractor.

8. The entire delivery, accounted above, was a huge blessing. For instance, if Nicole hadn't had that appointment...she would have certainly gone into work. Based on when her pain started, we may or may not have even made it to the clinic in time for Aliyah's arrival. God's control over the entire day is so obvious to us, and we are so thankful. 

9. Our translator/friend Kari was amazing. We're not sure we could have done it without her help. She  ensured that every bit of the delivery was translated into English and coached Nicole's breathing. She also helped Nicole with the first feeding (another blessing), answered tons of our questions, and translated tons more questions to the doctors and nurses on our behalf. 

10. We were able to successfully upgrade our internet just in time. The video streaming for Skype has been amazing. We have already been able to introduce Aliyah to all of the grandparents.

-Dave, Nicole, & Aliyah